wildrose

That is sooooo beautiful! I will be looking for that tutorial!

LOL Spider! I'm wondering if the love of purple can be genetic: my mom-in-law, mother, sister, niece, and now Ethan are all nuts about it. On the other hand, my dad, nephew, and I are all crazy for orange. What causes a color preference after all? And thanks to all for the compliments.

I've no trouble waiting, don't worry - I totally understand about the paid things...having just lost my job I'd love a few paid commissions...

Here are some pictures of a rose in various stages. Sorry some are fuzzy, was trying for some shots of the bead part. Here's how I did it: 1. trace and cut each piece. Punch hole in center. 2. dunk a piece in water, remove immediately, shape to desired form. At this stage, what I've taken to doing is to assemble the rose and place it down inside a paper/plastic cup to dry. 3. dye or paint with acrylics (I think the acrylics leave it with a better/leathery smell). 4. using needle nose pliers, bend the tip of the wire around a bead 5. put the pieces on, smallest (bud) to biggest petal piece. Finish with leaf piece. 6. put another bead up the "stem". Wrap the stem with florist tape to keep everything in place at the top. The way the instructions call for to assemble them --- well, I've not been able to get it to work. And neither did my 4H group, I should add. So I just do them this way and they look just fine to me!

Actually, mine are made using that very Tandy handout...I'm flattered by the compliment It was alot of trial and error. I use leather anywhere from 4/5 to 6/7, lighter is easier of course. I'd like to try them smaller some time - my best friend used to do little ones as pins. I've used both dyes (Fiebings) and acrylics on them. This one is a metallic purple (FolkArt) I bought at Michael's craft store. I'm pretty cheap when it comes to stuff like this - the less expensive materials, the better. Roses are a good use of scrap leather! The bead in the center is a clear pony bead I also got in a 100-ct bag at Michael's. I find the clear ones can be a challenge to get, but they work best in all color roses. I bend the stem down over the bead with needle nose pliers. I'll take some more pics and post 'em...

I took care of it...no problem.

My 3 yr old SON wanted purple, so purple it is....I think if he'd said pink, my husband would've put his foot down on that... not that I would've cared...I painted his room yellow 'cuz he wanted it that way... ps if anyone wants the pattern, I still have it. I can't post it publicly (it's by Tandy) but will email it to you.

I saw a demo by (I think her name was) Sharon Smith at one of the MidWest Federation shows a few years back. I can tell you for sure the supplies she showed us for basic book binding were not that costly, and she made it look relatively easy to learn the basics. She used to belong to the PittPounders guild - I've not heard about her in a while, so I'm not sure where she's at now...

About the ostrich: I'm not surprised the pieces are small. My parents used to raise ostrich (they are MEAN birds, but very tasty...) and we had one of the hides tanned. It was not done by someone experienced with ostrich hide, and came back with alot of holes and variety in thickness. When you see the pieces this person has for you, that is something to be aware of. Ostrich is supposedly one of the more difficult hides to tan. There are also differences in the hide, like a cowhide, depending on where the leather is from (neck, body, legs).

I use alot of metallics on the knots, with primary color backgrounds (like blue) I bought some acrylics in gold, bronze and copper. Silver is nice too, but I find it sometimes rubs off easier.

Two of my fav Celtic links: http://www.clanbadge.com http://www.aon-celtic.com

I have used Krylon clear with no troubles whatsoever. But it WAS on non-flexible/minimally flexible pieces.

You're welcome. Happy to help!

Yes and no. Larry and Leenie's Lusty Leather, a fellow vendor, had one on their work, and I asked them about it...they'd had it custom made.

One of my dearest friends, Yolanda, does alot of covers. She has a great site, and I'm sure would be willing to give you some pointers: http://custom-leatherworks.com/

Thanks! I got through to Wichita and they were very helpful - a bottle is on its way to me.

Thanks bunches! Tandy in Witchita wrote me and I'm going to give them a call.

Que bello trabajo! Me gusta el color especialmente. (what beautiful work! I especially like the color.)

I need some of the (no longer available) Tandy's antique in Saddle Tan - in the liquid form, not the paste. Next to the mahogany, it was my favorite, and I didn't get to stock up on it before they discontinued it. If you have some of the smaller sized bottles of it, and would be interested in parting with it, please let me know. Thanks!

I was working on cutting out pieces for a Bible cover, and got curious what others are using when they are cutting out project pieces. I really like my craftsman knife from Tandy, but am lousy at keeping it sharp, so I'm usually picking up the scissors.

Great job Out of curiousity, what made you use a different kind of leather on the strap/handle?

I used to have a blue one similar to this yellow, and I think it was called a southern blueflag. It was in the iris family though. My mom has a whole bunch like your carving - she's an iris fanatic.

I saw a nice patch of these blooming along the waterfront at Claytor Lake, VA today. Sadly, it was surrounded by trash from careless visitors. But it was just so pretty, I had to take a pic. Hope someone can make use of it as a pattern.

That is magnificent!

That is really sad! I'm sorry for you that you had this experience. With all the good will the Pay It Forward posts had going on, I'm truly surprised that you had this happen. I hope it turns out well for you in the end...